This journal is intended just as an update, I'm not looking for help or for pity I'm simply going to state what I've gone through in the year of 2024. Take it as a sort of catalog, a point of analysis where I can go back and have this as a point of comparison, as well as to make those who watch me aware, for educational purposes more than anything.

Before anything, here is podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?li.....MuJVydwm8mfSLt


So, firstly, it is no secret I have been fired from my job a while ago. At first I was worried I wouldn't be able to make ends meet and would have to abandon this account to take care of other affairs, but with help of family and my very privileged situation after the pandemic, I was able to bounce back, although currently I'm living with my parents.

Right after that, however, my grandmother fell ill, she had bouts of dementia and had to be under care 24/7, which was distresing because we knew, due to her age, that she would have complications and would likely not be well going forward. But outside of that, she was talkative, excited and still interactive.

That was how the year started. Right after, my 15 year old Daschound fell ill, unable to move properly, eating poorly, feeling pains, it was a sad sight to see. Later exams determined he had a terminal case of cancer that was spreading through his lower spine, and it was the first time I had to make the choice of life and death for one of my pets, and to avoid further suffering I chose to euthanize him.

Making that choice was not easy, but I chose not to dwell on it at the time and simply allow things to follow their course. I was able to process the loss of a pet easily, but I had never been the one to choose when it happened, and the doubt lingered in my mind, something I had to get over and put it to rest along with my pet.

I admit having the internet and videogames in moments like those helps, but having family and friends around might have been the best thing I had to handle those situations, and might be the biggest reason why I handled them well. Despite living with my parents I never stepped away from my social life, especially now with my friend group having gotten back together after Covid and long times apart due to life choices, I'm truly thankful to have them around.

Middle of the year was easy in terms of living condition but I had another worry at the time, my eyesight. It's a little known fact, because I don't talk about it here, but my eyesight is an extreme case, it's stable but not correctable, I have practically 20% eyesight from one eye and 70% of the other, which makes tasks like reading and writing very time consuming despite how much I enjoy them. This time, however, I was worried I was losing my eyesight from my good eye, and this was a major concern.

Further examination, however, determined that my eyes were fine, I just needed new eyedrops and my situation was, indeed, settled and things went back to normal, until my whole saga with dental care.

Having had dental issues before, I knew what was coming, I have retracting gums, and would need grafts in order to get them back in order, a process that involves removing tissue from the roof of my mouth and implanting it around my teeth using stitching. The process itself isn't a bother but I had to spend three weeks only drinking liquids and resting, which was the real bother.

While I was at it, however, I decided to finally have a dental implant for a tooth I had missing, never had a permanent one underneath, so while I had the gum grafts I also opted to have the base for the implant placed, a metal pin that is drilled into the jaw. Surprisingly enough, for as scary as that procedure sounds it was actually very good, and the implant worked perfectly, sticking completely to the bone and allowing me to have the ceramic crown screwed on later.

All those dental procedures, however, left me with a strange wobblyness to the base of my neck and my right arm, that became shaky whenever I lied down. Turns out I had a pinched nerve, and my hope was that it would settle back in place once I was able to fully relax from all this hospital routine. For those who listen to the podcast it's already a known outcome, but indeed my nerve settled and the shakiness stopped completely, which was a relief and life was back to normal.

Things went well at the year's end until I got the news that my grandmother had a stroke, a minor one but that left her movement impaired. A month later and the situation worsened, culminating with her becoming bed ridden and unable to eat solid food. She passed away a week after, too tired and distressed from the whole situation.

It was both a relief and a sadness, all of my grandparents had already passed and it never gets any easier, but knowing she was finally able to rest was a way to cope for me and my family. We spent Christmas together, as we always do, and despite the somber undertones we were happy to have each other, and happy to be together.

TLDR, it was a very tiresome year emotionally, and I'm glad to have amazing friends and family around me, but despite everything my situation is great and I am on good condition financially, mentally and physically which makes the year a net positive despite all the losses. I leave you all here with a message to not stress yourselves about things that are outside of your control, let life happen and make the choices you think will lead you down a good path, but always keep those you love around you, even if just for company it really helps a lot in times of need, hope you all had a great 2024 and here is for an even better 2025!